Review: As Night Falls by Jenny Milchman
AS NIGHT FALLS
385 Pages
Release Date: 06/30/2015
PUBLISHER: RANDOM HOUSE | IMPRINT: BALLANTINE BOOKS
GENRE: MYSTERY/THRILLER | PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
From the acclaimed author of Ruin Falls and Cover of Snow comes a breathless new novel of psychological suspense about a dark, twisted turn of events that could shatter a family—a read perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Chris Bohjalian, and Nancy Pickard.
Sandy Tremont has always tried to give her family everything. But, as the sky darkens over the Adirondacks and a heavy snowfall looms, an escaped murderer with the power to take it all away draws close.
In her isolated home in the shadowy woods, Sandy prepares dinner after a fight with her daughter, Ivy. Upstairs, the fifteen-year-old—smart, brave, and with every reason to be angry tonight—keeps her distance from her mother. Sandy’s husband, Ben, a wilderness guide, arrives late to find a home simmering with unease.
Nearby, two desperate men on the run make their way through the fading light, bloodstained and determined to leave no loose ends or witnesses. After almost twenty years as prison cellmates, they have become a deadly team: Harlan the muscle, Nick the mind and will. As they approach a secluded house and look through its windows to see a cozy domestic scene, Nick knows that here he will find what he’s looking for . . . before he disappears forever.
Opening the door to the Tremont home, Nick brings not only a legacy of terror but a secret that threatens to drag Sandy with him into the darkness.
*ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review *
AS NIGHT FALLS is a brand new psychological thriller by Jenny Milchman and a really good read. It started out fairly innocent, with a dysfunctional family and a female protagonist who is doing her best to keep the peace with her daughter and her marriage as long as she can while also protecting her family from a huge secret about her past. But that all changes when two prison escapees waltz inside the Tremont home and take them all hostage.
I love psychological suspense stories, and the plot of this one gave me serious chills, especially given the recent upstate NY prison escape of two murderers. While parts of this book were somewhat predictable, other parts of it were not, and let me just say, Nick is one scary, crazy-as-hell dude, and given his background that came in flashbacks with his mother, one has to wonder whether nature or environment played more of a role in his mental makeup, or perhaps, it was a combination of both. Either way, he was a well-drawn antagonist, and right in line with some of the other sociopaths written for this particular genre. He also makes a rather good character study, and a fascinating conversation starter for those interested in criminal profiling and psychology.
If you like a good psychological suspense thriller with a horrifying scenario that could easily be splashed all over television stations and the front pages of city newspapers all over the world, As Night Falls is an excellent read guaranteed to make you sleep with one eye open and all the doors to your cars and houses locked up tight.
Jenny Milchman is the author of Cover of Snow, which won the Mystery Writers of America’s Mary Higgins Clark Award, Ruin Falls, and As Night Falls. She is the chair of the International Thriller Writers’ Debut Authors Program, a member of the Mystery Writers of America and New York Writers Workshop, and the creator and organizer of Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, which is celebrated annually in all fifty states. Milchman lives in the Hudson Valley with her family.
Thanks very much for your thoughtful review, Deanna Lynn!